PASPALUM IN PASTURES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7101, 31 August 1949, Page 4

PASPALUM IN PASTURES

NEED FOR CAREFUL MANAGEMENT ADDRESS BY TE AWAMUTU FIELDS INSTRUCTOR The value of paspalum on peat land Was not disputed, but there was some doubt in the minds of farmers as to the value nf paspalum on other types of soil in the Waikato, stated Mr A. J. Price fields instructor, Department of Agriculture, Te 'Awamutu, in an address in Hamilton to the North Island instructors’ conference of the Extension Division of the Department of Agriculture. Paspalum, said Mr Price, was a grass which did best on country of high fertility, which was well drained and which had a good supply of moisture. It belonged to a group the majority of which were natives of. tropical dr semi-tropical climates. It thrived only in districts which experienced a warm summer and had a fairly high annual rainfall. On this account it was of most value in the North Auckland peninsula and on the coastal district of the Auckland province. It was essentially a summer grass and production was from. December to March.

The only virtue that' any pasture had was that of high production of useful feed over the greater part of the year. A pasture of predominantly perennial ryegrass and white clover, with HI ryegrass, red clover, and cocksfoot, would under good management, provide this requirement. Most Difficult Period The most difficult period of the year to provide for, continued Mr Price, was the month of September, but paspalum would not help to relieve any feed shortage at this time. Due to the free range system of grazing practised by many farmers from January until the autumn, growth commenced in April paspalum' had spread extensively, and farms which a few years ago had only a trace of paspalum in the pastures had now pas-palum-dominant pastures, even to the extent of being sod-bound.

The result was that little ryegrass and clover remained in the sward.and grass production was not adequate for the dairy herd until paspalum growth commenced in December. This accentuated the September shortage, rather than helped’ to overcome it. The growing period was then at the most three months, and the dairy herd suffered another feed shortage. Another reason for the spread of paspalum; on many farms in the Waikato was the continual haying of the same fields each year. TJiis continual haying weakened the ryegrass and white clover, and allowed the paspalum to take control. It was on farms, where indifferent management methods were adopted, that the paspalum problem was most serious. Fall in Production On farms where paspalum had become a dominant constituent of the sward butter-fat production had fallen considerably. A striking case in this regard was provided on a farm in the central Waikato area. Until ten years ago only a trace of paspalum could be found in the pastures), but this had gradually increased until since 1945 the majority of the pastures were sod-bound with paspalum. Production had fallen from 22,000 lb of butter-fat to 16,000 lb. From 1945 on this farm a programme of pasture renewal had been practised, and every effort had been made to eradicate the paspalum. A mixturue of ryegrass, clover, and cocksfoot had been sown, and that with the paspalum that had re-ap-peared had given a sward of predominantly rye - white with about 10 per cent paspalum. Management methods had been altered to prevent as far as possible a re-occurrence of the sod-bound conditions. Butter-fat production had risen gradually in the last four years, and for the 1948-49 season the production was 20,000 lb butter-fat. Survey of Farms The speaker commented that he had made a survey of ten farms in the Waikato to find out the percentage of paspalum in the pastures of highproducing farms on varying soil types. These farms had been select-

ed at random .from a list of highproducing properties. The owner of one of these properties was very much in favour of paspalum, three considered a, little paspalum would aid production during the summer months, and six preferred a rye-white sward"free from paspalum. This, the speaker considered, was a fair indication of the popularity of paspalum in the Waikato. The farmer who was very much in favour of paspalum said that it provided excellent summer growth if properly managed. Manure and management were essential to prevent the pasture bcoming sod-bound. Another of the farmers expressed the opinion that paspalum had no place on light soils or on Hamilton clay loam, but that it had a place on heavy rich flats about Te Awamutu. Opinion of Majority The speaker said that he had found that the majority of farmers in the Waikato would rather be without paspalum as a constituent of their swards. Some of the main reasons for this dislike of paspalum were: (1) .Paspalum definitely felt the effect of dry summer conditions experience in the Wiaikato. On the lighter soils, in its main growing period of January, February, and March it was affected by the dry conditions, as was ryegrass and its production of herbage was small. Many farmers considered that paspalum did not provide a solution of the feed shortage of the late summer and early autumn, and that silage must be fed to the herd if a sudden drop in production was to be avoided. Because of this inability of paspalum to provide for the herd at this time of the year, and its dormancy over the greater part of the year, farmers preferred a ryewhite sward and conserved spring surplus for feeding out in the summer.

A fairly high and evenly distributed summer rainfall was essential if paspalum was to produce any bulk of feed on this light sandy soil. The Waikato summer rainfall did not provide the necessary moisture for abundant pasture growth. Owing to the risk? of frost, paspalum growth might be as short as six to eight weeks. Will Not Stand Stocking

Paspalum would not stand heavy stocking and still produce. Paspalum would not generally be found growing near gateways or in small night paddocks where there was heavy tramping, but it appeared on the poorer and light areas of paddocks, particularly in those fields that were continually cut for hay. Ryegrass and white clover, on the other hand, thrived under heavy stocking. The maximum and best utilisation of feed could be secured only when it was possible to transfer and concentrate stock as rapidly as (Conditions would allow. Paspalum. would not stand such treatment.

Paspalum, once established in a pasture, was liable to take complete possession, with a consequent falling off in production. This had happened in a large number of cases in the Waikato. However, many farmers would agree that paspalum was valuable on land that was wet in winter, but not badly flooded, and on the rich heavy flats that held their moisture in the summer months. On the lighter soils such as Horotiu sandy loam and on the Hamilton clay loam it was a failure.